


Truth or Dare?

by Accal1a



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Canon, F/F, First Kiss, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Sexual Tension, Surprise Kissing, Unresolved Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-06
Updated: 2016-05-04
Packaged: 2018-03-21 15:40:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 8,106
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3697763
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Accal1a/pseuds/Accal1a
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Raven organises an ongoing game of 'Truth or Dare' for the delinquents.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Humble beginnings

**Author's Note:**

  * For [someslash](https://archiveofourown.org/users/someslash/gifts).



> Written off the prompt: "Multi chapter Truth or Dare, where everyone knows Monty fancies Jasper, except Jasper; Murphy is attracted to Bellamy; and Bellamy finds out he's bi."
> 
> This vaguely follows the plot of the show but I've taken liberties with timing of things. So the events are all there; but they may be out of order.

Raven had been trying to get the group to bond for days, ever since she’d come down really and realised that although they were all working together, they didn’t know each other. Heck, most of them still went by their last names and if that wasn’t the prison mentality still clinging to them she didn’t know what was. She really wanted to get them talking and she was making it her personal mission to do that. Only no-one else seemed to care.

~~~

“We don’t know each other very well.” Raven said, plonking herself down on a log next to their sort-of leader by the fire.

“So?” Bellamy responded, surly as always. 

“So we should get to know each other.” 

“Why?”

“Why not?”

~~~

“The game’s called ‘Truth or Dare’.” Raven said loudly, this time to Murphy who was sitting a little further away from the group, the fire not warming as much this far out.

“Never heard of it!” Murphy said. “Sounds dumb.”

“It is NOT dumb.”

“It sounds dumb.”

“What are you, twelve?”

~~~

“So, I’ve got this idea…”

“No.”

“You don’t even know what I’m going to say.”

“You’re going to talk about that crazy game again. We don’t have time to play games, we have an army of grounders out there and who knows what else, we can’t get in contact with the Ark and Bellamy’s strutting around like he owns the place. We are _not_ sitting round the fire singing songs.”

“It’s a _game_ Clarke. By the sounds of things, you need to unwind a little.”

~~~

By the time Raven got round to Monty she was fed up with people’s lack of interest and decided to play dirty.

“…and those are the rules.”

“Um…”

“What Monty? You want a signed invitation? If you help me get everyone talking I’ll make sure I dare Jasper to kiss you.”

“WHAT!” Monty squeaked.

“Oh shush, it’s not like it’s a huge secret.”

~~~

“Octavia!”

“Yeah?

“I’m trying to round up interest in…”

“I’ve heard. That’s fine.”

“I haven’t even finished my sentence.”

“You don’t need to, let me try. Truth or Dare. Sounds like fun. I’m in.”

~~~

“Finn…”

“Whatever you want.”

~~~

In the end, it was Jasper’s enthusiasm which allowed the game to be played. No-one could seriously say no to Jasper. He was like a bouncy ball of energy and when he turned those puppy dog eyes on you it was very difficult for anyone to say no.

The seven of them were lounging around the dying embers of the fire, everyone else having gone to bed. People were sleepy but not so tired that they needed to sleep and Raven thought those were pretty optimum conditions if no alcohol was involved.

“Who wants to start?”

“It’s your game.” Murphy sighed.

“Why are you even here Murphy?” Finn snapped.

Murphy shrugged and glanced over to him lazily. “Haven’t got anything better to do, Spacewalker.”

“Then shut up and let her talk.”

Murphy actually did shut up which surprised Bellamy. Bellamy found him looking at the other boy, the shadows allowing him to do so without Murphy noticing. He saw the way the dying embers of the fire reflected in his eyes, the way his longish hair fell across his face. Scrubbing a hand across his own face he shoved those thoughts aside. Where had _that_ come from?

“So, the rules are. We go round the circle and each person says either ‘Truth’ or ‘Dare’, the person to their immediate left then comes up with something to that effect.”

“How is this supposed to help us get to know each other?”

“It’s supposed to be fun, Clarke. You remember what fun is, don’t you?”

“Not since we got down here.”

“This is just going to be a bundle of laughs.”

“Shut up, Bellamy.” Clarke snapped. “I’ll go first.” She fixed Bellamy with what she hoped was a haughty stare, raised an eyebrow and said. “Dare.” 

“Alright Clarke!” Jasper whooped, punching his fist into the air as he did so.

“Dork!” Monty said quietly to his friend.

“Am not.” Jasper replied without a second’s thought.

“Get a room you two.” Octavia joined in, causing Jasper to blush.

“ANYWAY.” Raven said, trying to bring back some sense of decorum. “Clarke said ‘Dare’. So…” She looked around the camp, taking in the makeshift and ramshackle forms of the tents. “I dare you…to climb the outside of the dropship.”

Clarke sprung to her feet, never having been afraid of heights before. Being afraid of heights in space was sort of like a fish being afraid of water. If you were, you got over it pretty damn quick or you couldn’t live.

The other six people watched in awe as the uptight princess of Earth climbed the outside of the dropship, actually stopped to savour the view at the top and then climbed back down nimbly.

“Satisfied?”

“Yes.” Raven said. “Okay, so now the play moves round, so Jasper, it’s your turn.”

“Okay, um…” He looked around camp as well and absently rubbed the healing wound on his chest. What if he was dared to leave the camp? People wouldn’t do that would they? They knew how dangerous it was and this was just a game. People wouldn’t actually do that, would they? “Um…”

“Today, Jasper.” Bellamy prompted.

“Okay, um…Truth, I guess?”

There was a chorus of groans and he quickly changed his mind.

“Dare!”

Clarke paused for the briefest of seconds then a wicked grin crossed her face. “I dare you to kiss Monty.”

“What?!” Monty exclaimed, nearly standing.

“It’s okay, Mont, I can do it, no problem.”

“You don’t have to.” Monty said really quietly.

“I think I do.” Jasper replied. “Or Raven might kill me.”

Monty thought back to his conversation with Raven and wondered whether she’d spoken to Clarke about it. It didn’t seem likely, what with there being some sort of uneasy truce between the two of them. Monty didn’t know what the fight had been about but it seemed like it must have been quite big because they avoided each other fairly often. Was it true then that everyone in camp knew about him fancying Jasper? Did _Jasper_ know about him fancying Jasper? Monty’s heartrate sped up and he was about to tell Jasper again that he didn’t have to do it when his best friend’s lips crashed into his own.

He didn’t know how to respond so he just sat their motionless until it was over.

“There.” Jasper said triumphantly.

“Your turn, Monty.”

“What?” Monty said, still reeling from the events.

“It’s your turn, dork.”

“Oh, right. Yes. Um. Truth?”

“What was the name of the teacher that you had a crush on on the Ark?”

“Jasper that secret was supposed to go to our graves!”

“All’s fair in love and truth or dare.” Jasper responded grinning.


	2. Chapter 2

“So! Who’s up for Truth or Dare?” Raven asked, sitting down next to Murphy and causing a scowl to form on his face.

“Didn’t we already play that?”

“You see, it’s funny, but every time you play it, it’s a _different game_ because people ask _different questions_.”

“It’s still dumb.” He replied, walking away. 

Raven watched him go, trying to work out a way to get him over to the fire later on.

~~~

“Monty….”

“No.”

“But, Monty.”

“No!”

“I’ll dare him to…”

“I said ‘No’ Raven!” 

Monty stormed off but Raven knew he’d come round. 

~~~

“Jasper…”

“Yeah! It was really good last time.”

Raven had to stifle a laugh behind her hand. If only he knew just how good one of them thought it had been.

~~~

“Finn.”

“You seem to be making friends quickly.”

Raven shrugged. “I’m trying.”

~~~

Octavia appeared at the fire dragging Bellamy by one hand and Monty by the other. She forced them both down on a log and kept their hands in her lap until she was sure they weren’t going to go away.

“Found these two hiding on the other side of the camp.” She said, winking. 

Raven had a lot of time for Octavia and this recent development made her like her even more.

~~~

Jasper sat down next to Monty and shoved his shoulder into him. “Where have you _been_ , Mont? I haven’t seen you all day!”

Monty just shrugged and made a non-committal noise whilst Jasper prattled on about all of the things that had happened to him in the last 24 hours. Normally Monty found Jasper’s stream of consciousness monologues adorable but in light of recent events he could barely focus on what his best friend was saying.

“And then I slew a dragon, which was odd because grounders don’t transform into dragons for strangers.”

Monty just nodded along and Jasper started to worry that there was something seriously wrong. Ordinarily when he clocked Monty not listening he could always pull him out with ludicrous statements. Monty would laugh, blushing slightly and Jasper would see the apologetic way he lent into him and listened more intently for a few minutes. He always listened when it was important though so Jasper didn’t begrudge Monty the lapses normally, he did talk a load of rubbish. Still, they were about to play Truth or Dare, so there were other ways to make him talk.

~~~

“We’re missing some people.”

“You’re suddenly keen to play, Bel?”

“No.” Bellamy replied through gritted teeth, scanning the camp. “But if _I_ have to, then I don’t see why…MURPHY! GET YOUR ASS OVER HERE.”

“Knew I’d get you.” Raven stage-whispered when Murphy sat down.

“Shut up, Raven.”

Bellamy saw the familiar way that Murphy said it though and thought that there were clearly hidden depths to Murphy, he talked a big talk but he was just like the rest of them underneath. A kid, sent to die and not sure how to carve out a life for himself when his societal structure had crumbled. Bellamy thought he’d probably be annoyed too and he briefly wondered what crime Murphy had committed. He didn’t seem like the sort of guy to have done anything too bad. No-one whose eyes sparkled like his did in the flickering flames could have done anything _that_ bad.

Shaking his head to try to dislodge that last thought, he looked round at the faces of his not-quite friends. “Where’s Clarke?”

“Busy!” Clarke shouted from across the camp.

Bellamy was about to shout back when Jasper jumped up and ran over to her, dragging her back by both hands. He could hear him whining at her that it would be fun and Bellamy wondered how Jasper was ever going to survive down here. Obviously the spear hadn’t been his fault but someone as bouncy and naïve as Jasper appeared to be wasn’t going to last long. Which was a shame really, because Bellamy liked him well enough, he certainly seemed like he could be more malleable and less annoying than some of his current ‘troops’.

“Gangs all here!” Jasper said, plonking himself back down next to Monty.

“You’re not going to shut up unless I stay are you?” Clarke said, looking around.

Seven voices chorused their answer and then laughed nervously. Maybe they would become friends after all.

~~~

“Truth!”

“What did you and Atom really get up to in the woods?”

“Murphy…”

“Shut up Bellamy, it’s not your ‘truth’.”

“That’s my sister!”

“Yeah, well I wasn’t the one shagging her.”

Bellamy got to his feet but Octavia pulled him back down.

“Bel, it’s a game.” She looked over at Murphy. “And he’s just winding you up.” She paused. “Nothing much. We kissed some and we found this amazing field of blue butterflies but that was it.”

Bellamy grunted his approval and Murphy smirked at him. He hated him. He definitely hated him. That knowing smirk though, why was it so hard to look away from?

~~~

“I dare you to kiss Jasper.”

“This really isn’t how I expected to get my second kiss but whatever.”

Monty stilled next to him, his voice quiet. “I was your first kiss?”

Jasper turned to him, confusion evident on his face. “Of course you were! When was I going to get kissed on the Ark?”

“Oh.” Monty said and then looked away when Clarke walked over and gave Jasper a perfunctory kiss on the cheek.

“Forfeit!” Octavia screeched.

“What?”

“That was hardly a kiss!”

“You didn’t state what kind of kiss.”

“I’m not feeling very attractive right now guys.”

“See? You’ve upset Jasper!”

“That’s not what I meant.”

Surprisingly it was Finn who cut across Clarke, Octavia and Jasper’s conversation. “What’s the forfeit?”

Octavia thought for a second, absently biting her nails as she did so. “You have to kiss Murphy.”

“Gee thanks.”

“It was the worst thing I could think of.”

“Bite me, Octavia!”

“Shut up, Murphy.”

Any response Murphy was intending to retort was lost as Clarke sat on his lap and kissed him quite thoroughly. He was dazed for a second when she stopped.

“No smart alec remark?” Clarke teased.

Murphy coughed, looking a little too quickly at everyone around the circle. “Right, so whose turn is it now?”

“Mine.” Bellamy replied curtly. He was suddenly irrationally annoyed with this whole game and just wanted it over and done with as quickly as possible. Tomorrow night he was going to make sure he was elsewhere. This was ridiculous. 

Maybe the grounders would attack. That would be good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic is apparently on hiatus whilst my brain catches up with my keen. 
> 
> I'll get back to it as soon as my body is co-operating with itself.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this took me so long to update.
> 
> As soon as I put a note at the bottom of Chapter 2 to say I was taking a break I was struck with the sudden desire to write and here we are. I've also partially written Chapter 4 too so hopefully the break won't be so long next time.
> 
> Thanks for sticking around.

Murphy was not going to play this stupid game again. It was absolutely ridiculous. There were 101 problems down here and sitting around a camp fire and telling secrets to each other seemed too stupid for words; and yet there was something about it which he couldn’t quite define. There was some draw to it which made him want to continue the odd tradition.

So he sat down at the fire anyway, trying hard not to notice that he was the first one there.

“Murphy you’ve been such a dick today.” Octavia said, sitting down opposite him, gesturing at another log so her brother would take a seat too.

“Yeah? Well that wall needs building and people slacking aren’t going to get it built any quicker.”

Clarke and Raven both rolled their eyes at the same time as they walked over; and Monty, who had arrived while Murphy was talking, stifled a giggle which was attempting to   
break forth. Whatever had caused the two girls to stop talking didn’t change the fact that they were still incredibly alike.

“He’s got a point.”

Six pairs of eyes swivelled round to seek out Jasper, who was swinging one long leg over the log where Monty was sitting.

“Well he has. We’re not safe down here and that wall is just one thing we can do to keep them out.” Jasper continued, absently rubbing his chest again.

“Defensive measures are better than offensive ones.” Finn chimed in, arriving last. 

Murphy and Bellamy both rolled their eyes at this. They accidently caught each other’s eyes and looked away.

“So are we playing this game or what?” Murphy said.

If anyone was thinking it was hilarious that Murphy was the one to suggest it, they didn’t voice their opinion.

~~~

Bellamy and Murphy had been eyeing each other up for hours now and Octavia was getting fed up with it.

They’d all been playing the game rather methodically that evening, with far fewer gripes from people. Everyone seemed to have realised that no-one was going to be dared to do anything truly stupid and had therefore relaxed a little. 

They were all still teenagers though and teenagers were nothing if not little balls of hormones.

“Truth!”

“If you had just one day on Earth, what would you do?”

“We’re _on_ Earth, O.”

Octavia threw a stick at Bellamy’s head. It missed by a mile and hit Monty on the ear instead.

“Ow!”

Octavia buried her face in her hands, occasionally attempting an apology through the giggles which were escaping.

“Now you’ve injured Monty!”

“Forfeit!” Raven screeched.

“What for? It's not even my turn!”

“Injuring a fellow comrade.” Jasper interjected.

“That’s not even part of the game!”

“All’s fair in love and truth or dare, hadn’t you heard?” Finn said, winking at Jasper.

Jasper’s ears turned pink as he realised Finn was quoting him. Finn Collins thought he was worth quoting?

Octavia, realising she probably wasn’t going to win this one, stood up with her hands on her hips.

“Okay, what’s it going to be?” 

“I dare you…” Clarke started.

“…to run around the camp…” Murphy joined in, surprising both himself and the others.

“I’m not doing anything naked.” Octavia butted in.

“That’s not what I heard.” Someone said under their breath and Bellamy growled directionlessly.

“…shouting ‘Monty Green…”

“…is the greatest human being…”

“…to have ever lived…”

“…and I should never…”

“…ever…”

“…ever…”

“…EVER…”

“That’s enough now Jasper.”

“I wasn’t the person who said the ‘ever’s!”

“Yeah but you took it too far.”

“…have marred a perfect hair…”

“…on his perfect head.”

“Is everyone done?”

The others all looked round the campfire at each other and when no-one voiced an opinion, Octavia started. It was only when the second cup was thrown at her that she belatedly realised people may have been trying to sleep.

Huffing slightly, she returned to the campfire and sat down next to Clarke, causing the log to roll slightly and both of them to comically try to right themselves.

“Now I’ve cemented my place in camp as ‘most hated person’.”

“I doubt that.” Murphy said quietly, turning away a little.

Octavia continued, lest the silence that followed that remark get awkward.

“I believe I was just about to give my dear brother a ‘Dare’.”

“I asked for a truth!”

“Yeah,” Raven replied, “and you sassed the answer rather than answering properly!”

“We’re not even allowed to clarify anymore?”

“Not when it’s obvious what someone meant.” Finn said, with something akin to glee in his face.

“I’m not going to win this argument am I?”

“Nope.” Seven voices responded as one.

Bellamy threw his arms up in the air and replied, mock solemnly. “What is it to be, O Circle?”

“You have to kiss Murphy.” Octavia said immediately.

Bellamy wondered how long she’d had that in her back pocket. Had she noticed that he’d been staring at him? Had _Murphy_ noticed? Was he about to get his face smashed in?

Murphy looked up from the ground when the gauntlet was thrown, a small frown worrying his features.

“You don’t have to, man.” Bellamy started.

“Yes he does.” Monty said very quickly.

Jasper shot him an odd look but didn’t say anything.

“It does seem like the done thing to do.” Finn said seriously.

Bellamy couldn’t tell whether he was joking or not. He wanted to hit him anyway. He was very aware that he hadn’t yet moved and that at any moment someone was going to ask him to forfeit.

He stood up, wiping his hands on his trousers as he did so. Just when had they got sweaty in the first place? He wasn’t that close to the fire was he?

Murphy similarly stood, though made no move to get closer either.

“Generally you have to at least be on the same side of the fire to be able to call anything a ‘kiss’.”

“Smart ass.” Murphy said, passing Clarke.

Was everyone enjoying this? Was he about to be made a laughing stock?

“Er…” Murphy said, as soon as he and Bellamy were within arms-reach of each other.

“Tounges or it doesn’t count!” Jasper exclaimed, joining in.

Murphy and Bellamy both shot him identical glares, which caused Raven and Clarke to giggle.

“Let’s just…”

“We should just…”

“If we get it done...” Bellamy started.

“…they’ll leave us alone.” Murphy finished.

Neither Bellamy nor Murphy could have said afterwards who closed the gap. Suddenly they were kissing and it was messy and beautiful at the same time. Bellamy’s arm ended up snagged in Murphy’s hair at the base of his neck; Murphy’s fist was balled up in Bellamy’s shirt; and when they finally pulled away they were both a little breathless.

“Right.” Raven said, sounding slightly hoarse.

“Yeah.” Clarke replied.

“Same time tomorrow?” Jasper asked.

“Looks like.” Monty ended.

Finn rather cluelessly followed Raven back to the tent wondering what all the fuss had been about. It was hardly the first kiss around the campfire and he doubted very much it would be their last. Why was everyone acting so oddly all of a sudden?


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's a tiny bit of angst in this one; but if I'm going to try to follow the show (with some slight tweaking and everything being a little out of order) then it's going to happen occasionally.

The next day, it went to hell.

When Murphy was accused of murder, he looked to what he thought were his new friends and saw nothing but disgust. Desperately searching for Jasper (because there was no way that _Jasper_ would think ill of him) in the sea of faces, he was saddened to find he couldn’t see him anywhere.

He was an idiot to think that he could make friends down here, an idiot to think anyone was going to like him for who he was. He was a loser and always would be. His mother was right.

He struggled hard against his bonds, the movement causing the noose to bite harder into his neck. 

He had a sudden and irrational desire to declare his crush on Bellamy despite this absolutely not being the right time; despite there being nearly one hundred people around; and despite the fact he was probably about to die. Not that he really could declare the crush, or even really defend himself considering the mob had gagged him.

Bellamy wouldn't let him die though, would he? He thought he detected the beginnings of something with him, surely he wouldn't kill him. Hysterically, he started to wonder whether he was really that bad a kisser.

When Bellamy kicked the crate out from beneath him he found that the first thought he had was total and complete shock and after that no thoughts at all. Wasn’t your life supposed to flash before your eyes before you died? Then again, his life had been pretty rubbish of late, he wasn’t sure he really wanted to re-live it.

He heard the high pitched squeaking of a girl saying she’d killed Wells and he wanted to applaud her. He hadn’t killed him; but that didn’t mean he didn’t want him dead. He didn’t know who it was who cut him down, thought he might have heard Finn’s annoying (although maybe he needed to change his assessment of him now) voice having a hand in it.

Murphy didn’t really care. All he felt was the anger of the wronged. He scanned the faces of those who moments ago had wanted to kill him, who were going to kill him just because he’d been one of the more vocal at getting things done around here. 

That little girl needed to die.

~~~

They all gravitated to the fire anyway, even though no-one was in much of a mood for games, or talking in general really.

It felt weird without half of them there.

Raven gathered that Clarke and Finn had disappeared with Charlotte and tried not to think about what might be happening. Octavia tried not to worry that her brother was out there, in the dark, with a group of people trying to hunt down Murphy.

“He’s not really going to kill her, is he?” Jasper asked quietly, staring into the fire.

“I don’t know, Jasper.” Octavia answered. “I’d be pretty pissed if someone tried to kill me, though.”

“But she didn’t…” Jasper started again.

Monty cut him off this time. “Jas.” He took his hand in one of his own, needing the contact, not caring if it looked odd. “Jas. Murphy was lynched for something he didn’t do. He has every right to be angry.”

“It’s not like we stopped it from happening.” Raven chipped in.

The four of them stared into the fire after that, listening to the pop of the wood, alone with their thoughts.

It felt good to be together, even if they weren’t talking.

~~~

Clarke looked across at Charlotte, who seemed to be asleep. She knew they’d traipsed across miles of forest and that the younger girl was probably tired; but Clarke didn’t think she’d have managed to sleep if their situations had been reversed.

“Hey, Finn?”

“Yeah?”

“Truth or Dare?”

Finn looked over at her and smiled, knowing instantly that this was something they both needed. It was familiar; seemed like a private tradition; and allowed them to forget for a moment that they were in the middle of a forgotten safe house, deep in the woods, hiding from an angry Murphy. Moving to sit next to her, he took her hand and held it between two of his own.

“Truth, I guess.”

“Do you think we’re going to be okay?” Clarke asked in a very small voice.

“Yes.”

“Good.” She replied, accepting the lie for what it was. She leant her head into his shoulder, finally sleepy.

~~~

“What do you think is happening?”

“I don’t know, Jas. Try to get some sleep.”

“I can’t.”

Monty moved so he could see Jasper in the dim light of the tent they shared.

“Truth or Dare, Jas?”

Jasper looked over at his best friend quickly, wondering whether he was serious or not. Seeing no trace of a joke on Monty’s face, he gave him a tight smile.

“Truth.”

“How hot did you think Bellamy and Murphy kissing was?”

Jasper went bright red and hoped the semi-darkness would hide it. Monty couldn’t see his face clearly enough to see the change in hue; but he knew Jasper well enough that the pause before answering was his 'embarrassed' one.

“It was okay.” Jasper whispered, not trusting himself to speak at full volume.

“Forfeit!” Monty said quietly.

“What for?” Jasper replied, propping his head up on his hand, his elbow leaning on the floor.

“Lying.”

Jasper laughed; and after a while his breathing evened out and Monty knew he was asleep.

Monty flopped back down on his own makeshift bed and covered his face with his right forearm, fighting the urge to groan. This was going to get much worse before it got better.

~~~

Murphy was on the run, moving through the trees at a break-neck speed. He played the last hour in his mind again, wondering where it had all gone so wrong.

Charlotte had jumped off a cliff, which was good riddance as far as he was concerned. She may have got rid of a thorn in his side; but she waited almost too long to speak up, so she could burn.

He couldn’t believe Bellamy though, banning him from camp. Who did he think he is? Why was he suddenly in charge? Since when was creating a mob a banishable offence? And if it _was_ shouldn’t the entire camp be banished with him? What the hell did he think was going on when he was hanging from a tree? Did he think he'd got up there of his own accord? 

To hell with him anyway, he didn’t need him. He didn’t need any of them.

_Truth or Dare, John? Truth. Why did you think you could have friends down here? Because I was weak.  
Truth or Dare. John? Truth. What have you learnt? That I’m far better on my own.  
Truth or Dare, John? Truth. How much are you thinking about Bellamy right now? Shut the hell up._

He laughed without mirth and continued down a slight slope. 

To hell with Bellamy Blake the most.


	5. Chapter 5

They were all feeling the departure of Murphy in different ways; but life down on the ground didn’t afford them much luxury for mourning. Even the actual dead youths didn’t get much time set aside for them. If Clarke wasn’t so tired she’d mourn _that_ fact as well.

She was one of the older ones on the ground, might even be the oldest aside from Bellamy; but she hadn’t asked for the leadership position she’d ended up with and didn’t know a lot of the time what to do with it. She saw 12-year-olds who shouldn’t be here; who should have had their cases reassessed before the powers that be made the decision to send them down here to die; who should be running around the Ark playing stupid games; who shouldn’t be looking at her with the haunted eyes and the expectation of leadership. She hadn’t asked to become some sort of de-facto mother to ninety kids; but that was what had happened; and she couldn’t turn them away even if she wanted to.

She needed to be careful though, she could feel the resentment rising. It wasn’t their fault, it was the adults that had failed them; and she desperately didn’t want to be one of them. She was legally an adult now and she hoped to all hell there wasn’t a switch that was flipped at the age of eighteen which made her into a despicable human being.

~~~

All Octavia could do was attempt to be the morale booster in the camp. The irony that the morale boosting fell to her, someone who had pretty rubbish social skills, was not lost on her.

Generally people flitted between being morose, missing their families and the relative safety of the Ark; and the high spirited ‘we’re finally free!’ attitude. The first one was fairly easy to deal with; you sat with them, let them let it all out and then hugged them. The second one was much harder. Trying to get people who were high on life to do work was incredibly difficult. They were free for the first time in their lives. They weren’t barely surviving (grounders not withstanding) anymore, they were down on a beautiful world and they were breathing clean air.

Octavia couldn’t begrudge them the happiness; but she also wasn’t prepared to let slacking be the reason they all weren’t safe. She was fairly kind about it and just had the occasional proper shouting match with some of the older boys. Once she’d explained that it was for the good of the many (a phrase she wasn’t comfortable saying; but knew they’d understand. It was oft repeated by those in charge on the Ark to explain why the lower classes couldn’t have something; it was a dirty move but it was her last ditch ‘go to’ catchphrase and it worked). It made her feel awful that it worked; it proved that the ruling class had it so ingrained in their psyche that they continued to ask ‘How High?’ even as they were on the ground and with no contact to those who used to be in charge.

Still, it gave her something to do; something to make her forget about Murphy, at least for a moment.

~~~

Finn couldn’t sleep. 

He couldn’t stop thinking about the look on Murphy’s face when he’d been banished from the camp. It didn’t matter how Bellamy sugar-coated it, being banished from the camp was a death sentence. It was just a nicer was of saying it. Then, Bellamy could appease his conscience, Finn assumed; let himself believe that Murphy could be out there, hiding in a cave and surviving on nuts and berries.

He lost quite a lot of respect for Bellamy that day, no longer trusting his judgement. Yes, they had to be careful down here – the grounders proved that – but that didn’t mean they could act like savages themselves.

Finn knew he was idealistic sometimes; but he also knew where the line was and as far as he was concerned Bellamy had crossed it. He was going to have to keep an eye on him.  
He still held out for a peaceful resolution with the grounders, even if they hadn’t seen them for days now; and had no way to find them. Still, he was confident that when they did find them, he could talk them round. As long as Bellamy didn’t get to them first and proclaim a declaration of war; which wouldn’t surprise him. He’d seen that same glint in the eyes of the guards who were all too happy to use their shock batons on those who were not resisting arrest.

That cruelty couldn’t be abided; this camp could function on love, not hate. He was sure of it.

~~~

Raven found out about Finn’s indiscretion on a day when she was already feeling the stress of being down on this God-forsaken planet. She was a little cold towards Clarke, even though logically she knew that it wasn’t her fault. She’d seen the way they looked at each other; but had just thought it was a passing fancy, something as teenagers they all had to deal with. The knowledge that it was more made her sick to her stomach.

She wasn’t sure if Clarke would try to cut her out of the group of friends that she accidently formed, whether she would now be someone on the outside looking in. If she was, that meant she had no-one now. 

As it turned out, Clarke was just as annoyed with Finn as she was, possibly more. Clarke had been in solitary for nearly a year; and the first person who’d shown her any kindness had turned out to be a total douche.

Clarke wasn’t like that though, she was a little wary around her for a day or so, feeling out the boundaries, Raven assumed. Once she’d spoken to her, made her realise that she was mostly annoyed with Finn, they went back to speaking. 

Raven sighed a very welcome sigh of relief. She wouldn’t end up on her own like Murphy.

~~~

“What do you think…”

“Don’t do that Jasper. Don’t think about it.”

“But we just let him…”

“I know it’s harsh; but it’s bad down here, you of all people should know that.”

Jasper absently rubbed his chest; a movement which Monty thought was an absentminded gesture. Any time that Jasper was worried he seemed to fall back on that.

“It just seems like…”

“There wasn’t another choice. You know Bellamy wouldn’t have made it if he hadn’t had to. Murphy was dangerous and it sucks; but we’ve got to think of the many not the few.”

“I thought it would be different down here. That sounds like Ark speak.”

“I know, Jas. Turns out life sucks wherever we are.”

“Well that was depressing. Want to find some more of those nuts?”

“Sure.”

~~~

It was a few days – which felt like an age down there – before they all gathered around the fire again. They waited in silence for a bit.

When Finn opened his mouth to break it, Bellamy cut him off. He didn’t need any of his pacifist bullshit right now.

“Hey Jasper?”

Jasper looked up rather quickly, somehow managing to seem guilty as he did so. Wondering what Bellamy wanted.

Bellamy took pity on him almost immediately, though he felt his face arrange itself into a smirk.

“Truth or Dare?”

Jasper grinned at him and he saw Octavia smile from out of the corner of his eye. He deliberately didn’t look at anyone else, lest he be guilty of what he had just stopped Finn from doing.

They played until long into the night and they all knew they’d pay for it tomorrow; but it was exactly what they needed.

They’d be alright, they could work through this, whatever happened.


	6. Chapter 6

When Octavia went missing, the group splintered slightly.

“What if we’re being picked off one by one?” Jasper asked Monty, wide-eyed.

“You think there’s a conspiracy to knock off the ‘Truth or Dare?’ group?”

“I think I’m fed up with people dying; and I don’t care _why_ I just want it fixed."

“Jas, I didn’t mean....”

“Never mind, I’m going.”

Jasper hadn’t decided he was actually leaving the camp to look for Octavia until that moment. He was surprised to find that the prospect of leaving didn’t scare him as much as he thought it would. He was still generally scared of the Grounders, of course he was; but this was Octavia and they needed to get her back. She was one of them; and they weren't leaving people behind.

“You don’t have to come with me.” He said to his best friend. 

He wasn’t trying to be unkind; but he had made up his mind and no-one was going to change it, not even Monty.

~~~

“Truth or Dare, Bellamy?”

“Really, now?”

They were standing in the camp, Bellamy shoving rope into his pocket, getting ready to depart.

“Just do it.”

“Fine. Dare.”

“I dare you to create a group of people to bring back Octavia by any means necessary.”

Bellamy smiled at Clarke, nodding as he did so. 

He wasn’t sure when it had happened; but Truth or Dare had permeated their lives even when they weren’t round the fire. It allowed them to talk about things they perhaps didn’t want to; but needed to. If you were compelled to answer under a ‘truth’ it felt less like an admission of failure, the game had told you to do it. There were a lot of tears but it was cathartic in a way nothing else on the ground had managed to be. There seemed to be a sacred bond formed over a childish game; and if they all leaned on it as a crutch, they weren't talking about it. It worked, that was all that really mattered. 

~~~

“It’s too dangerous!”

“You don’t have to come, Finn.”

“I’m just saying, we need to think about this.”

“We’ve thought about it, we’re going.”

“Okay, fine.”

Raven rolled her eyes at him, noting just how annoying he’d got recently. How was it that when they were barely surviving on The Ark, he was special and supportive; and down here that just translated into annoying and antagonistic?

~~~

When Octavia woke up, noting she was once again in a small enclosed space, she barely reigned in her panic. The panic had no place here though, she couldn’t gain anything from panicking, she needed to rescue herself.

_Truth or Dare, Octavia?_  
Truth.  
You’re not that little girl anymore. You can do this.  
Truth or Dare, Octavia?  
Dare.  
It’s ‘any means necessary’. If this guy has to go down, then you need to put him down. 

For some reason her solo game of ‘Truth or Dare?’ helped. She hadn’t realised how much she’d come to rely on the people who had been sent to the ground with her and the realisation that she had friends for the first time in her life made her smile. She hadn't noticed and the bonds had kind of crept up on her; in any case she wasn't giving them up without a fight.

~~~

When Bellamy carried Finn into camp, Clarke nearly lost it. 

She knew that she was the defacto doctor on the ground; but trying to do something like removing a dagger from someone whom she was pretty sure she had a thing with was something else. She knew that in ‘normal’ situations a surgeon would recuse themselves if they knew their patient. She didn’t have that luxury. There was only her between life and death; and the prospect of making the wrong decision terrified her. 

Raven was similarly losing it; and Clarke employed the same tactic that she had with Bellamy earlier.

“Truth or Dare, Raven?”

“Dare.”

Raven always picked ‘Dare’. Originally Clarke had thought it was because Raven was trying to prove something, trying to show she wasn’t scared of anything. Now though, Clarke noticed it was because she didn’t want to appear vulnerable. If she never picked ‘Truth’ she didn’t have to volunteer any information about herself.

“I dare you to get that radio fixed in record time. That radio insulted you, I heard it.”

Raven gave a wan smile and ran off.

Clarke sighed, she couldn’t remember ever being this tired. This ‘new life’ they were supposed to be forging for themselves down here could bite her. This wasn’t life, this was surviving; and it was a battle she wasn’t sure she was winning.

~~~

Jasper was sitting quietly, not sure what to do with himself. He wanted to help, wanted to be useful; but the fact of the matter was he didn’t have any skills that _could_ be useful. 

He loitered in the dropship, there if he was needed for anything; but mostly just sitting, staring at Finn. He was the first friend he’d made on the ground and although they’d only known each other a few days; he respected him a lot. He was cool and caring and Jasper felt safe in his presence. Even now, ill as he was; a peace settled over Jasper watching him.

Even the hug Octavia had given him and the subsequent joy of knowing they had rescued her did nothing to quell his worry. He didn’t want to pick sides; but he wasn’t sure if saving Octavia was worth this cost. If Finn died, he didn’t know what he’d do with himself.

~~~

“Move that there.” 

“Raven, I know what I’m doing.”

“I know; but we need to get this…”

“Raven.”

Raven turned her eyes away from the electrical mess in front of them and looked into Monty’s eyes.

“Truth or dare?”

“Truth.” Raven whispered.

The look of shock Monty gave her almost made her smile; but the enormity of the situation weighed her down too much for her to defy gravity and move her facial muscles into the correct position.

Monty paused before asking the question, not breaking eye contact. “Can you fix this radio?”

“Yes.”

Monty gestured at the work bench.

“Then let’s fix it.”

~~~

When Bellamy, Miller and a group of people hauled the Grounder into the top of the dropship, people were silent. No-one wanted to be shown condoning Bellamy’s actions; but at the same time it was a line they weren’t sure they should cross.

Raven going to town on the grounder made Clarke terribly sad on top of the exhaustion she had felt earlier. She could see Raven was hurting; but she was worried her friend would be lost to the darkness she had apparently tapped into.

In the end, it was Octavia’s quick thinking which saved Finn; but the price was almost too high.

~~~

They didn’t sit round the campfire that night. They all gravitated to the dropship and sat vigil around Finn’s occasionally conscious form.

They didn’t speak either. No-one quite knew what to say.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no idea why this fic is so sporadic. I **have not** given up on it; just don't get the impetus to write like some of my other WiPs.
> 
> So, I'm sorry.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I _think_ the problem was my apathy about Season 3. Now that the band is back together, I hope that my muse will allow me to post more often!
> 
> Thank you for being so patient with me.

There was a funereal pall across the camp after Finn’s narrow miss with death. Even Clarke, who had stepped up against all odds and managed to do minor surgery on him, couldn’t meet anyone’s eyes. She should have been celebrated but no-one seemed to have the energy. People had died since they hit the ground; but nothing quite like this.

They gravitated to the fire every evening; but no-one said anything. They merely all stared at the flames until they were embers; and then went their separate ways. The harsh reality of what the adults had sent them to was finally hitting home. They liked to think that they wouldn’t have been sent if the adults had known the delinquents weren’t alone down here; but none of them were sure. That fact alone was enough to depress them.

The nuts made everyone loosen up a bit, people began hallucinating all sorts of things and dropping secrets left and right. It was like an extended game of ‘Truth or Dare?’ with the entire camp involved. Finn and Raven were rushed off their feet helping people, trying to stop them consuming more of the things (because apparently they also made you hungry) and generally attempting to be keep a lid on the situation.

Apparently Clarke and Bellamy had had a similar encounter with the nuts when they were out getting supplies; which turned out to be guns, much to Finn’s chagrin. Finn wondered whether he was angry because he didn’t think they needed guns; or angry because he was worried that actually they _did_. The death of Dax sort of proved that. Bellamy might be dead now if not for the weapons.

Octavia played the game in her head, coming up with excuses if she was caught trying to see the grounder, who she found out was called Lincoln. In the end, it was ridiculously easy. The nuts did all the hard work for her and she just snuck him out.

Finn didn’t even need to play the game in his head when he spotted Lincoln leaving. He didn’t want a war and if leniency for crimes committed helped in any way, then he was happy for it happen. He just nodded and the grounder went on his way. He hoped he’d made the right decision.

That night they sat around the campfire as always, staring at the fire.

“It’s been a crazy day.” Raven said eventually.

Everyone chuckled tiredly. 

It was a start at least.

~~~

“’Unity Day’’s a crock.” Someone said.

Raven quietly agreed; but she’d always liked the day anyway. Even if it was probably a watered down tale of what had happened, even if it was likely not as easy as they were taught, it was still nice to think there was a semblance of unity on The Ark because of some peace treaty. It was nice to know that after The Earth had been blown all to hell the world leaders had finally come to their senses.

~~~

Finn saw ‘Unity Day’ as a sign that they should try to make peace with The Grounders. He thought he was in a unique place to broker said peace being that he had nearly died from an attack of theirs. Added to which, letting Lincoln go surely must be seen as a sign of good faith. The Grounders couldn’t actually _want_ war could they?

~~~

Octavia, who had only heard of ‘Unity Day’ through vague descriptions from Bellamy and her mother didn’t really care what was going on and wasn’t crowded round the screen when it went dark. A bolt of anxiety went through her anyway. With the luck they’d been having recently it couldn’t be seen as a good sign.

Still, seeing Lincoln again had been a perk, even if it was as part of a doomed peace process. She was assuming the worst; but prepared to be pleasantly surprised if The 100 and The Grounders could live in peace.

~~~

Clarke would have liked to believe in unity and peace with The Grounders; but she was also a realist. When she told Bellamy what was happening, she thought of Finn only momentarily before telling Bellamy to bring _lots_ of guns. She wanted to be prepared even as she hoped they weren’t going to be needed.

~~~

Bellamy echoed Clarke’s sentiment, very quickly rounding up Raven and Jasper. It would be great if this shaky plan worked but could be a disaster if it didn’t. He wasn’t a gambling man; but even he could see that it wasn’t worth betting on the meeting.

He tried not to think about what Murphy would do, tried to think about the other boy at all; but didn’t quite manage it.

~~~

Monty, who was busy trying to fix the radio, wasn’t thinking much of ‘Unity Day’ at all. All he was thinking about was the gnawing pit in his stomach that had opened as soon as Jasper had been hauled off with Bellamy. He’d just brought Jasper back from the brink of death, he couldn’t bear the thought of him being there again.

 _Truth or Dare, Monty? Dare. Fix this radio, or you may never get to hear your mother again.  
Truth or Dare, Monty? Truth. Why are you really so worried about Jasper? Because he’s my best friend.  
Truth or Dare, Monty? Truth. Why are you REALLY so worried about Jasper._ Monty didn’t respond to himself, staring instead at the mess of wires in front of him and quashing any future questioning by humming the ‘Unity Day’ anthem to himself over and over again.

~~~

“You can have a ‘truth’ for free, Jasper. You’ve damned us all.” Octavia spat as she pushed past him into the compound.

No-one else said anything, Raven even offering a wan smile; but Jasper could tell they were all thinking some variant of it too.

He and Monty were the only two people who sat round the fire that night, sitting as close together as possible and not saying a word. At some point, Monty had put his hand, palm up, on Jasper’s thigh. Jasper took it without a moment’s hesitation.

They stayed like that well past the dying of the embers. 

Jasper was thankful Monty was there. He could get through anything with him by his side, anything at all.


End file.
